Monday, August 04, 2014

I Will Not Commemorate the War

I will not commemorate the war
That started a hundred years ago,
Until the war has ended.

The war continues, the battles rage on,
In Syria,
In Palestine,
In Iraq,
In Ukraine,
In a dozen other places,
The war continues, the battles rage on.

I will turn away from monuments and memorials,
I will not join the men at their cenotaphs and graves,
I will not wear a red poppy
Until the war has ended.

I will not blame warmongers afar
Without first blaming those at home,
The warmongers who make and sell the weapons,
The politicians who make the mongers' trades possible,
The savers whose investments oil the wheels of the industry.
No, don't give me your lame excuse of jobs and economy,
You who would make a hundred year war last to eternity.

There was a lull, a truce, they called it armistice,
But it was not the end of the war,
Just a moment of hesitation,
An opportunity to regroup,
Re-arm,
To fight under different flags,
Over different lines.

I will leave nostalgia aside for now,
I will stand apart from the crowd,
Alone maybe,
And say that a hundred years is enough to show
The war to end all wars is a lie.